TeliaSonera Sees Fee Disputes Being Resolved In 2007

STOCKHOLM -(Dow Jones)- TeliaSonera sees all of its disputes regarding interconnection and termination fees in Sweden being resolved during 2007 after years of legal wrangling, a company spokesman said Tuesday.

In its annual report for 2006, TeliaSonera said it's involved "in numerous proceedings related to interconnect fees, which affects future revenues."

Spokesman Ola Kallemur declined to comment of the number of proceedings and the total financial amounts at stake.

Interconnect and termination fees are the prices telecom operators pay each other when transferring calls from one network to another.

"We believe they (the disputes) can be resolved this year," Kallemur said.

Already in February the administrative court of appeals in Sweden decided on a case related to the level of rival Tele2's interconnect fees from August 2001 until December 2003, resulting in TeliaSonera reversing earlier provisions of SEK389 million ($56 million).

TeliaSonera said in the annual report that in Sweden it is currently in disputes with Tele2, Telenor and Hi3G Access, a unit of Investor and Hutchison Whampoa, regarding the level of interconnect fees for calls from 2004 and onwards terminated in their respective mobile networks.

The Swedish National Post and Telecom Agency, PTS, has, according to TeliaSonera, decided that Tele2, Vodafone Group and Hi3G were entitled to charge the company approximately SEK0.97 a minute until July 5, 2004 and thereafter down to approximately SEK0.54 a minute in 2007.

Tele2, Telenor and Hi3G Access AB however, claim that the interconnect fees should be higher, in the range of SEK0.99 to SEK1.35 a minute, while TeliaSonera claims that the fees should at the most be in accordance with the fees that PTS has decided.

The issues are presently pending in the courts.

-By Magnus Hansson, Dow Jones Newswires;+46 8 545 130 91, magnus.hansson@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires"

Posted to the site on 10th April 2007